Rail joint



Aug. 11', 1925. 1,549,054

P. BACHER RAIL JOINT Filed July 30. 1924 NVENTR. Peter cher ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug.. ll, 1925.

Matata PETER BACHEB, OF DETROIT, MICHXGAN, ASSIGNOR TO KATHERINE RAMSEY,0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

RAIL JO'INT.

Application filed July 30, 1924. Serial No. 729,093.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that 1, Firma BACHER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Detroit, in the county vof Viayne and State of Michigan,have invented a new and useful Improvement in a Rail Joint, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in a. rail jointand is designed particularly as an improvement over my invention setforth in Letters Patent No. 1,- 133,694, issued March 30, 1915. Anobject of the present invention is the provision in a rail joint of thisclass of a pair of co-operating clamping jaws adapted for clamping theadjacent ends ofrails in fixed relation to each other, while permittingthe free movement of the ends o f the rails relatively to each other inresponse to expansion and contraction, one of the clamping members beingprovided with a guard member adapted for cowoperation with the flange ofthe car wheel for increasing the safety of the joint of the meeting endsof rails and rendering the travel of a car over the meeting ends ofrails less noisy and for eliminating, to a great extent, the lateraltravel of the wheel on the rail when passing the rail joint.

Another object of the invention is to prevent a possible derailment of acar when passing over a rail joint by utilizing a guard member adaptedfor cooperating with the flange of the car wheel.

Another object of the invention is the provision in a rail joint ofclamping mem.u bers having co-operating jaws constructed in aneconomical manner so as to be possessed of the maximum strength while atthe same time reduced in weight.

Another object of the invention is the provision in a rail joint of thisclass of clamping members adapted for engaging the opposite sides of therails with which used and provided' with aA recess for the accommodationof the lettering which is ordinarily present on the sides of the rails.

Another' object of the invention is the provision in a rail jointof'this class of a clamping jaw adapted to project slightly above theupper surface of the rail and inclined outwardly upwardly therefrom topresent a surplus of material adapted for flowing over the upper surfaceof the rail upon use.

Another `object of the invention is the provision in a rail joint ofthis class of an upwardly extending portion adapted for engagement withthe side of the ball of the rail for relieving the wear of the side railincident to the travel of the flange of the wheel in friction'therewith.

Another object of the invention is the provision in a rail joint of thisclass 0f a clamping member adaptedv for engaging the side of the railwith which used, and provided with outwardly projecting studs forengagement in the holes formed in the rails adjacent the ends thereof,so as to assure in a most eflicient manner the continuous co-operativerelation between the clamping plates and the ends'of the rails, while atthe same time permitting the rails to move freely relatively to thismember in response to expansion and contraction.

Another' object of the invention is the provision in a rail joint ofthis class of a clamping plate having a spike shoulder adapted forengaging the head of a spike and so arranged as to necessitate thedriving of the spike into the ties of the road bed at an incline.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

rllhe invention consists in the combinations an'd arrangements of partshereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood` from a reference to theaccompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and inwhich,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the invention Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview of one-of the clamping members of the invention,

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4: is a sectional View taken substantially on line 4 4 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of another clampin'gmember used in theinvention,

Fig.k 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 6 6 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary View illustrating the fastening means.

As shown in the drawings, the rail ends 9 and 10 are placed in closerelation to each other, having a slight space between the ends thereof.A clamping plate 11 is provided, which is adapted to support the rails 9and 10, said clamping plate being provided with a portion 12 having ashoulder 13 formed thereon, the upper surface of said shoulder 13 beinginclined to the upper surface of said plate 12, a suitable slot beingprovided in the shoulder and extending through the plate to accommodatethe spike 1li, which is driven into the ties positioned on the road bed.The plate 11 is provded with a clamping member which comprises avertically extending flange portion 15 connected to an angularly turnedflange portion 16, made integral with the plate 11. In mounting the railon the plate 11, the base flange 17 engages between the plate 11 and theportion 16 of the flange, the flange 15 engaging the web 8 along itsside, said flange being provided on the inner face with a recess 19 foraccommodating thelettering positioned on the side of the rail.Projecting inward-ly from the flange 15, adjacent its opposite ends, arestuds 2O and 21 which taper toward the end to facilitate their upsettingif necessary in order to shorten their length. Madeintegral with theflange and plate 11 at intervals are braces 22, which serve to reinforcethe flange 15 and retain the same in close engagement with the side ofthe rail, when clamped in operative position relatively thereto. Formedintegral with the plate 11, at intervals, opposite the braces 22, andprojecting upwardly from the base 11 are jaws, each having a centrallyextending reinforcing rib 23, the upper portion of said jaws beingprovided with a substantially arcuate shaped lip 24. As shown in Fig. 6,each of the jaws is provided with a semi-circular recess 25. As shown inFigs. 3 and ll, the body from which these jaws are made extends underthe plate 11, as at 26, terminating at a point substantially beneath thecenter of the rail when the same is mounted therein. is shown in Figs. 3and 4, the flange 15 is provided with an upwardly extending portion 27,which engages the inner face of the ball 10 of the rail. Projectingoutwardly from adjacent the upper edge of the flange 1F and curvedslightly upwardly is a guard portion 28 which is adapted, when a wheel29 is passing over thel rail, to extend slightly above the lower edge ofthe flange 30 of the wheel 29, a slight space being present between thesurface of the guard 28 and the surface of the flange 30 under normalconditions. This guard 28 extends the full length of the flange 15 andserves as a safety device for preventing a possible derailment throughnndue lateral shifting of the wheel when passing over the rail joint.

A cooperating clam-ping member is used in the device, which comprises aplate 31, having an inclined base 32 adapted to lie, when in operativeposit-ion, in engagement with the upper surface of the base flange 33 ofthe rail, this base 32 terminating substantially flush with the outeredgeof the base flange 33. The main body of the plate 31 is adapted forlying in close engagement with the web S of the rail and is providedwith a recess 34 for accommodating the lettering on the side of therail. The plate 31 is provided with a shoulder 35 adapted to engage theundersurface of the ball of the rail, a neck 36 projecting upwardly inclose engagement with the face of the ball of the rail and terminatingat its inner edge flush with the upper surface of the rail and at itsouter edge at a slight distance above the rail, the upper surface of theneck 3G thus being inclined downwardly from its outer side toward therail as shown in Fig. 1. The form shown in Fig. lis the condition andarrangement of the parts when first mounted on the rail. As shown inFig. 3, upon the use of the device, the wheels 29, in passing over thejoint, will cause a flowing inwardly of the surplus material of the neck36 so that there is a slight layer 37 of material on the upper surfaceof the rail. This flowing inwardly of this metal serves to present atthe rail joint a continuous strip of material so that the wheel, inpassing over the rail joint is not brought into engagement with acrevice or an abrupt ending of the rail over which it is traveling.

lt is to be noted, also, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, that the neck 36serves to support, to a great extent, the wheel when the same is passingover the rail joint. As shown in Fig. 5, the plate 31 is provided atintervals with outwardly extending projections 33, a pocket 39 beingformed in the plate 31 opposite each of these projections 33, in orderto lighten the plate and necessitate the use of less material. Each ofthese outwardly extending projections 3S is provided with asemi-circular groove 39 formed therein. llhen the plate 11 is mounted inposition, on the rail, the plate 31 may then be` placed in position asshown in Fig. d. The grooves 39 are brought into registration with thesemicircular recesses 25, so that the grooves 39 and the semi-circularrecesses 25 coeoperate for the reception of a locking ball l10. As shownin Fig. 3, the walls of these recesses and grooves 25 and 39 areinclined so as to converge toward each other at their bases, and theupper end is flared outwardly. Flaring the openings outwardly at theirupper ends facilitates the entry of the locking ball l() into thegrooves. Owing to the vibration which tralies place in the rails and isdelivered to the rail joint upon a passing of a wheel over the rails,the balls 40 are shaken downwardly into the channels provided by thegrooves and the recesses, so that the balls serve to loclr the plate 31and the flange 15 in close clamping engagement with the sides of therails. ln this way, there is provided a rail joint which is efficient inbinding the ends of the rails in close engagement with lOl) each otherand at the same time easily assembled and disassembled.

A cover plate 41 is provided with a downwardly extending centrallyarranged portion 42 adapted for seating in the pockets formed for theballs 40. As shown in Fig. 1, the ends 43 and 44 of this cover plate 41are inclined downwardly. A notch 45 is provided in one edge of the plate11 for the reception of a bolt 46 which is projected through the plate41, the head of the bolt 46 being seated in a recess formed in the plateso that its upper surface lies flush with the upper surface of the plate41. The plate 41 is provided with a pocket in which is positioned aspiral spring 47 mounted in embracing relation on a bolt 46 and adaptedto engage, at one end, the bottom of the recess in the plate 41 and theundersurface of the head of the bolt, at its opposite end, so as tonormally maintain a Cotter pin 48 in engagement with t-he lower surfaceof the plate 11. In this way the plate 41 is retained in position so asto cover the pockets and prevent the entry of any foreign materialtherein and eliminate the possibility of the balls 40 being undulyremoved from their pockets.

The plate 41 is provided with a downwardly extending portion 42 whichdoes not contact with the balls 40 when in their normal position. Thisplate 41 is therefore formed T-shaped, so that the stem 42 serves toprevent lateral displacement of it.

The upper edge of the plate 31 is provided with a V-shaped notch 49 toindicate the center of the plate for facilitating the assembly of therail joint on the rail. This plate 31 is provided at opposite sides withinwardly projecting studs 31 adapted for cto-operating with the studs 20and 21, these studs being projected through the same openings in the webof the rail as are the studs 2O and 21. A slight distance separates theends of these studs when in operative relation. In forming the portions38 on the plate 31, the plate is dished out as at 38 opposite each ofthe members 38, so as to reduce the material used in forming the plate.It is also to be noted that the base 32 of the plate lies in Contactwith the upper surface of the base flange 33 of the rail and terminatessubstantially Hush with the outer edge of this base flange 33.

The structure as presented affords a solid foundation for the base ofthe rail, inasmuch as the plate 11 extends the full width of the rail.In this respect, the present invention differs from the previousinvention by me and greater' facility of assembly is the result from theuse of a larger base plate, such as shown in the drawings. rlhe guardmounted on the clamping plate is also important inasmuch as it performsthe functions already outlined.

Thile I have illustrated and described the preferred form of structure,I do not wish to limit myself to the precise form of structure shown butdesire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as comewithin the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what i claim as new and ydesire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A rail joint adapted for use on meetin ends of adjacent railscomprising a plate adapted for Contactin clamping relation to thevertical webs of the rails, said plate having an integrally formed baseadapted to engage the full undersurface of the base of said rails;a'plurality of jaws integral with said plate and projecting upwardlytherefrom, the inner face of said jaws being grooved substantiallysemi-circular and inclined outwardly upwardly of said plate, areinforcing'rib extending along the outer surface of each of said jawsand inwardly of said plate to substantially the center thereof; aco-operating clamping plate adapted for engaging the opposite side ofsaid vertically extending web, said co-operating plate having anupwardly projecting neck adapted for extending slightly above the uppersurface of the rail with which used, and for flowing over said rail uponuse; and means (zo-operating with said clamping plate and said jaws forretaining said plates in clamping relation to said rail.

2. A rail joint comprising a clamping plate adapted for engaging oneside of the vertical web of a rail with which used, said plate having anoutwardly upwardly inclined guard portion for extending slightly aroundthe flange of a car wheel passing over said rail to form a guard forsaid wheel, said guard being normally in spaced relation to the flangeof said wheel during its passage over said rail; a base for said plateadapted to engage the undersurface of the base of the rails with whichused throughout the width of said undersurface; and means co-operatingwith said base for retaining said plate in clamping relation. to therails with which used for normally preventing lateral movement of therails with which used relatively to each other.

3. A. rail joint comprising a clamping member adapted for engagementwith the vertically extending web of rails with which used; a guardmember integral with said plate and projecting outwardly therefrom forembracing in spaced relation the flange of a wheel when passing oversaid rail; and brace members formed integral with said plate fornormally resisting an outward thrust delivered to said plate; and means(zo-operating with said plate for clamping the same in close engagementwith the side of said rail.

4. A rail joint comprising a clamping plate adapted for engagement withone side of the vertically extending weh of the rails With which used;bra-ces for said plate; a base integral with said plate and extendingunder said rails and adapted for engagement with the undersuri'ace ofsaid rails throughout their Width; upwardly eX- tending aivs mounted onsaid hase; a reinforcing rib on each of said jaws extending under saidbase and terminating substantially at the center' thereof; an auxiliaryclamping pla-te adapted for engaging the opposite side oit saidvertically extending web; removable means positioned between said avvs'and the outer surface of said auX- iliary plate for normally retainingsaid plaltes in clamping engagement with said rai 5. A rail jointcomprising a clamping plate adapted for engaging the verticallyextending webs o1 the rails with which used; a hase mounted on saidplateintegral therewith and adapted to project under said rails and forengaging the undersur'face of said'rails throughout their Width; a wheelflange guard mounted on said plate and adapted for partially embracingin spaced relation the flange ot a Wheel passing over said rails; andmeans integral with said base terminating substantially at the centerthereof and projecting outwardly to one side for reinforcing the saine.

In testimony whereot` I have signed the foregoing specication.

PETER BACHER.

